Could Giants Really Repeat Saquon Barkley Pick?

The New York Giants seem to have three options available to them with the third pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They can try and find a franchise quarterback in Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, draft his two-way teammate Travis Hunter, or pick the class’ best edge rusher, Abdul Carter.

The Cleveland Browns will presumably take one of those options off the board, but just about any other permutation – from a trade back to selecting another prospect – is incredibly unlikely.

However, the NFL Draft knows little but chaos. Nobody saw the Micahel Penix Jr. pick coming; few pegged New York for quarterback Daniel Jones in 2019. What might surprise the football world in 2025?

While immediately clarifying that it wasn’t a report, Mike Garafolo spoke on the “Good Morning Football” podcast about the possibility of the Giants making a shocking pick in the first round.

“This is not a report by me. This is an opinion,” Mike Garafolo began. “You know what they should do? Ashton Jeanty, the Boise State running back at No. 3. Everything I hear about him, like there was talk, 'Is he a top-10 pick?' That’s over. It’s now ‘Is he a top-five pick?’ And I think the answer might wind up being yes, by the way. And you could see some jockeying position for Ashton Jeanty.”

Frankly, New York taking Jeanty third overall would be one of the funniest picks in league history.

Everyone knows how the Saquon Barkley story ended. Doing it again would unofficially mark the end of general manager Joe Schoen’s tenure. The most important part of taking a top prospect is the talent they provide, but their surplus value isn’t far behind. At high-value positions, teams can find elite play at a discount. Jeanty, given the suppressed nature of the running back market, would immediately be paid like a star running back – eliminating all breathing room for him to perform like anything less than a prodigy.

Add that to the lack of value running backs provide to bad teams (who are leading in the second half less often), and this is a recipe for disaster. It would, however, sell plenty of jerseys.

“But John Mara, you’d get your popular player right back – at that position – he’d have an impact,” Garafolo said. “We’re starting to see teams value the running back even more. I would absolutely consider it.”

Taking Jeanty would thrust heaps of criticism onto the front office, but it would also give the Giants two electric playmakers. For a city that loves its stars, Jeanty as a player would be well-received. The process to acquire him wouldn’t. Fortunately for the New York faithful, this isn’t enough of a possibility to worry about.

“Now they were there at his pro day but not out en masse the way they were at the other ones, so I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Garafolo admitted.